HIGHLIGHTS

All eyes are on on his Sept 21 meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

HIGHLIGHTS

Abbasi reached New York on Monday afternoon

He is scheduled to meet a dozen world leaders

All eyes are on on his Sept 21 meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will highlight the Kashmir and Rohingya issues in his address to the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. He's likely to use his interactions with American officials to halt a rapid deterioration in US-Pakistan relations, reports said.

The Pakistan Prime Minister, who reached New York on Monday afternoon, is scheduled to meet a dozen world leaders during his four-day stay. But all eyes are on on his Sept 21 meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

The Trump administration sent a no-so-subtle message while scheduling President Donald Trump's engagements with world leaders: Pakistan was kept out of even casual meetings with Trump.

The US President's first casual meeting on Monday was with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when he walked up to her after addressing a UN Management, Security and Development event, and greeted her warmly.

Briefing the Pakistani media on the prime minister's engagements in New York, three senior Pakistani officials - Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi and Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry - tried to downplay the impact of US-Pakistan relations on his engagements at the UNGA.

VIDEO: Abbasi's predecessor was Nawaz Sharif, who suffered a major blow yesterday when Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a review of the decision that disqualified him. Watch the report here.

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